Buffer



Feb. 1, 1,944. J. w. MARSH 4 2,340,335

BUFFER File oct. 28. 1942 gru/um JO/m w. Mars/1A Patented ret. 1, 1944 r John W. Marsh, United States Army,

. Washington, D.` C.

Appuano'n october za, 1942, sei-nl No. 463,580 2 claims. cci. 213-221) (Grantee under the act of March 3, 1883, as

amended April 3D, 1928; 37) 0 1 6..;757)

The invention described herein may be manu# factured and used by or for the Government-for governmental purposes, without payment to me of any royalty thereon.

This invention relates to improvements in buffers for railway cars.

It is among the objects of -the present inven? tion to provide a device of the class described which is considerably simplified as to construction, assembling, inspection and repair.

' to conform to the opening between the shoulders.

Another object is to improve the operation of such bu'ers`and to provide an arrangement of the cooperating elementsl which `receive and.

absorb buiing shocks such that the' danger or likelihood of damage or breakage thereof is reducedtoaminimum. I

These and other objects and advantages of my invention will become vapparent upon a consideration of the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the acconrpanyn drawing, in which- Fig. l is a plan view of abuffer construction embodying the improvements of the Apresent invention;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal cross-section alongthe `line 2-2 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a transverse cross-section taken gen erally along the line 3-3 of Fig. V2.

Referring to Fig. 1 it will be seen that there is provided a'cylindrical stationary body member I attached to a wood block I2 which may be a portion of the car frame. The body member l0 is provided with strengthening ribs Il extending to the rear plate I5 and is also provided with ridges I6 the top edges of which lie in' a plane, thus forming a foot rest in the manner well-v known in the art. Arranged for oscillating movement -within the body member I0 is the buffer unit member having a rounded head Ill. Referring to Figs. 2 and 3, the buier unit 2U, is provided with outwardly flaring sectors 22 spaced uniformly about the edge of the unit. preferably at 120. There are provided on the inner surface of the member l0 shoulders l24 spaced apart a distance somewhat greater than the sectors 22. The unit 20 is placed into the member I0 by sliding any of the sectors 22 be-- tween the shoulders 2l and it is then rotated until an unilared portion of the unit ls centered between the shoulders 2l. This rotation places the unit 2|! in a position where withdrawal is prevented by the abutment of the shoulders 26 formed bythe haring sectors 22 against the shoulders 24 of the member It.

'In order toprevent rotation of the unit'ZlJ tothe release position, there is provided a key 28, shaped This key- 28 is insertedl from the inner end of the outer cylindrical body member l0; andV the inner or vrearward end of the key is provided with' an angularly bent portion or lip which seats in a complementaril'y formed recess in the adjacent end of the said member I0. This construction and arrangementlimits the insertion of the key '2B to its propeiI longitudinal position; and also prevents 'its .longitudinal andl circumferential movement.

A spring 30 normally holds the unit 20 in' its extremeforward position. A platev 32 isftted into the rear of the member 2li and acts as a receiving plate against which theV spring 30 seats. This plate 32 also' contacts the lip of the elongate key and holds the same against the outer cylinder I0. The spring 30 is preferably of suflcient length so that when the plate 32 is flush with the rear of the member I0 it is under slight compression. This arrangementy V prevents rattling of the parts. 4

The parts being assembled, as sembly, is fastened to the block I2 by means of bolts 34 passing through openings 36 in the rear plate I5. For purposes of clarity these bolts have been removed from Fig. 3.

It will be seen that the construction just described provides a simplied buffer which consists of two castings, a spring, a key and a iiat plate. .Due to thev fact that two-thirds of the circumference of the unit 20 is used as a shoulder msurface, a spring may 'be used which will be strong enough to offer sumcient resistance to the shocks to which the buier may be submitted without danger of shearing off the retaining means. 'The flange construction illustrated allows one-half of the surface of the unit 20 to absorb any shocks vtransmitted angularly to the buier head. The

large cross-section of the key .28 substantially 'eliminates the possibility of shearing it oi' by rotation imparted to the buffer head. its` installation and removal requires only the tighten ing or loosening of .six easily accessible nuts.

Since the spring is arranged to be compressed by.v r the plate 32, the parts may be assembled without any of them under compression and the action of the nuts utilized to gain the desired operating compression. While I have' illustrated a particular embodi nient of lmy invention, it is to be understood that I do not wish to be limited to the particular `details and arrangement disclosed since various as new and wish to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A buffer comprising an outer cylinder, an inner cylinder slidably disposed in said outer cylinder and vadaptedv to` project therefrom, radially projecting sectors adjacent the inner vend of said inner cylinder, said sectors being substantially equally spaced and extending over substantially half of the perimeter of said inner cylinder, inwardly projecting shoulders on said outer cylinder and adjacent the outer end thereof,' said shoulders being substantially coextensive with the sectors aforesaid and spaced at intervals permitting the passage of the latter therebetween, a compression spring disposed in said outer cylinder, a closure member forthe inner end of said] outer cylinder, said spring being adapted to continuously contact said closure member and said inner cylinder whereby the latter is inuenced outwardly of said outer cylinder, an elongate key disposed between certain of the inwardly projecting shoulders on said outer cylinder and the corresponding radially projecting sectors on said inner cylinder, whereby the relative rotation o1' the latter isv prevented, saidy key extending into adjacency with the inner end of said outer cylinder, a, radially projecting lip on the rearward end of said key, and means formed on the inner end of said outer cylinder for interlocking with said lip and thereby preventing the longitudinal and circumferential movement of said key.

2. A buffer comprising an outer cylinder, an

inner cylinder slidably disposed in said outer cylinder and adapted to project therefrom, three radially projecting sectors adjacent the inner end of said 'inner cylinder, said sectors being substantially equally spaced and extending over substantially half of the perimeter of said inner cylinder, said sectors being centered at substantially 120 degrees with respect to each other, three inwardly projecting shoulders on said outer cylinder and adjacent the outer end thereof, said shoulders being substantially coextensive with the sectors aforesaid and spaced at intervals permitting the passage of the latter therebetween, a compression spring disposed in said outer cylinder, a closure member for the inner end of said outer cylinder, said spring beingadapted'to continuously contact said closure member and said inner cylinder whereby the latter is influenced outwardly of said outer cylinder, an elongate key disposed between certain of the inwardly projecting shoulders on said outer cylinder and the corresponding radially projecting sectors on said inner cylinder whereby the relativerotation of the latter is prevented, said key extending into adjacency with` the inner end of said outer cylinder, a radially projecting lip on the rearward end of said key, and means formed on the inner end of said outer cylinder for interlocking with said lip and thereby preventingthe longitudinal and circumferential movementv of said key, said closure member being adapted to contact said. lip and hold the same against said outer cylinder.

JOHN W. MARSH. 

